Girl's name
Jessica
Say it JES-ih-kuh
Hebrew origin he will see/behold/look for
3 syllables
Where Jessica is loved, common and rare
Common across Scotland and Northern Ireland. Rare in England and Wales, Ireland, Canada and nine more places.
1 in 221 girls born in Scotland in 2025
Scotland 49thNorthern Ireland 96thEngland and Wales 139th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 16 of the 40 official lists, among them Scotland (49th), Northern Ireland (96th) and England and Wales (139th).
Show all 16 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 49th 2025 | 81 | 1 in 221 |
| Northern Ireland | 96th 2025 | 21 | 1 in 347 |
| England and Wales | 139th 2025 | 360 | 1 in 704 |
| Ireland | 141st 2025 | 32 | 1 in 660 |
| Ontario province | 280th 2024 | 45 | about 1 in 1,210 |
| British Columbia province | 348th 2023 | 9 | about 1 in 1,329 |
| Poland | 381st 2025 | 8 | 1 in 14,974 |
| Italy | 406th 2024 | 34 | 1 in 5,270 |
| Norway | 454th 2025 | 5 | 1 in 4,359 |
| Austria | 474th 2025 | 10 | 1 in 3,572 |
| Berlin city | 528th 2023 | 5 | about 1 in 2,901 |
| Catalonia region as Jèssica | 604th 2025 | 4 | 1 in 4,818 |
| Cologne city | 630th 2023 | 1 | about 1 in 6,143 |
| Switzerland | 665th 2025 | 9 | 1 in 3,777 |
| Quebec province | 775th 2025 | 5 | about 1 in 5,201 |
| France | 981st 2025 | 35 | 1 in 8,194 |
Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Munich, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock, Sweden, Spain, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: National Records of Scotland (Scotland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France). How we count, and every source
About the name
Shakespeare first used Jessica in The Merchant of Venice in the early seventeenth century. It probably comes from the Hebrew name Iscah, a proper name meaning 'he will see' or 'he will behold'.
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It has three syllables, JES-ih-kuh. Jess and Jessie are the natural short forms, and Jessika is a variant spelling.
Jessica is used in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England and Wales, and appears only far down the lists in Poland, Italy and Norway. The French records place its peak in 1984. Today it is falling in 11 places while rising in only one, so it is a name of the parents' generation.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- JES-ih-kuh, 3 syllables
- Meaning
he will see/behold/look for
- Origin
- Hebrew
- Other spellings
- Jessie
- Jessicah
- Jessika
- Jessikah
- Jessicka
- Jessickah
- Jessiqa
- Jessyca
- Jessyka
- Jesica
- Jesika
- Jesyca
Counted together here: Jèssica.
Etymology
First used by William Shakespeare in Merchant of Venice in the early 17th century, probably from Hebrew יִסְכָּה (yiská, “Iscah in Genesis 11:29, Jescha in the Wycliffe version”), a proper name meaning "he will see/behold/look for", the 3ms imperfect form of a verb ultimately from the root ס־כ־ה (s-k-h).
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 1 of 13 regions, falling in 11.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 8 | 15 | 25 | 33 | 37 | 49 | 69 | 83 | 95 | 139 |
| Scotland | 7 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 18 | 24 | 27 | 25 | 48 | 49 |
| Northern Ireland | 14 | 25 | 16 | 28 | 37 | 38 | 62 | 60 | 127 | 96 |
| Ireland | 48 | 38 | 41 | 47 | 59 | 66 | 62 | 103 | 117 | 141 |
| Ontario | 102 | 128 | 154 | 153 | 220 | 248 | 250 | 384 | 280 | |
| British Columbia | 137 | 151 | 143 | 147 | 154 | 398 | 316 | 348 | ||
| New South Wales | 72 | 96 | ||||||||
| Victoria | 85 | 99 | ||||||||
| Queensland | 76 | |||||||||
| South Australia | 73 | 71 | ||||||||
| New Zealand | 49 | 81 | 93 | 85 | ||||||
| Quebec | 320 | 337 | 337 | 370 | 496 | 703 | 459 | 630 | 775 | |
| France | 387 | 500 | 562 | 544 | 667 | 695 | 981 | 852 | 1130 | 981 |
| The Netherlands | 503 | 1010 | 611 | 884 | 833 | |||||
| Austria | 197 | 213 | 190 | 227 | 380 | 265 | 410 | 532 | 771 | 474 |
| Switzerland | 199 | 165 | 237 | 254 | 295 | 425 | 287 | 391 | 800 | 665 |
| Berlin | 200 | 379 | 309 | 496 | 558 | 437 | 969 | 528 | ||
| Munich | 258 | |||||||||
| Bonn | 314 | 176 | 371 | 237 | 419 | 392 | 380 | |||
| Leipzig | 192 | 411 | 148 | 378 | 361 | 357 | ||||
| Norway | 240 | 323 | 326 | 403 | 427 | 370 | 377 | 454 | ||
| Sweden | 318 | 370 | 321 | 399 | 337 | 437 | 433 | 717 | 713 | |
| Catalonia | 541 | 486 | 485 | 487 | 541 | 335 | 604 | |||
| Italy | 194 | 183 | 221 | 244 | 252 | 302 | 351 | 406 | ||
| Poland | 112 | 128 | 147 | 165 | 197 | 197 | 304 | 296 | 396 | 381 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 139 | 360 | 142.1 |
| 2024 | 95 | 483 | 187.2 |
| 2023 | 83 | 573 | 223.3 |
| 2022 | 69 | 698 | 264.9 |
| 2021 | 49 | 997 | 363.8 |
| 2020 | 37 | 1,156 | 430.7 |
| 2019 | 33 | 1,439 | 513.8 |
| 2018 | 25 | 1,812 | 628.6 |
| 2017 | 15 | 2,139 | 715.2 |
| 2016 | 8 | 2,703 | 880.0 |
| 2015 | 7 | 2,937 | 953.8 |
| 2014 | 8 | 2,995 | 976.6 |
| 2013 | 6 | 3,507 | 1,137.0 |
| 2012 | 3 | 4,165 | 1,293.2 |
| 2011 | 4 | 3,984 | 1,239.9 |
| 2010 | 6 | 4,102 | 1,277.7 |
| 2009 | 6 | 4,291 | 1,369.3 |
| 2008 | 5 | 4,672 | 1,479.6 |
| 2007 | 5 | 4,595 | 1,501.0 |
| 2006 | 3 | 4,908 | 1,640.2 |
| 2005 | 1 | 5,030 | 1,745.0 |
| 2004 | 3 | 4,838 | 1,692.4 |
| 2003 | 4 | 4,933 | 1,770.2 |
| 2002 | 3 | 5,098 | 1,906.7 |
| 2001 | 4 | 4,888 | 1,823.9 |
| 2000 | 4 | 4,779 | 1,749.4 |
| 1999 | 8 | 4,799 | 1,703.6 |
| 1998 | 4 | 5,719 | 1,977.7 |
| 1997 | 4 | 6,090 | 2,077.2 |
| 1996 | 3 | 6,711 | 2,267.2 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Jessica in France since 1925 were born in or after 1987. First recorded in 1950. Her peak year there: 1984, at 1,329.4 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Jessica per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period. Her 1984 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Jessica
1 in 240 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Jessica.
1 in 1,921 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Jessica. Same first letter as Jessica.
1 in 271 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Jessica.
1 in 2,982 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Jessica.
1 in 125 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Jessica.
1 in 274 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Jessica.
1 in 128 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Jessica.
1 in 347 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Jessica.
1 in 486 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Jessica.
1 in 126 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Jessica.
Middle names for Jessica
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Jessica Charlotte
3-2 beats · initials JC
Changes the beat after Jessica: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 86 in Ireland
Jessica Sophie
3-2 beats · initials JS
Changes the beat after Jessica: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Jessica Grace
3-1 beats · initials JG
Changes the beat after Jessica: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Jessica Olivia
3-4 beats · initials JO · Jessica slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Jessica: 3 syllables, then 4 syllables. Jessica slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 102 in Ireland
Jessica Mia
3-2 beats · initials JM
Changes the beat after Jessica: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 132 in Northern Ireland
Jessica Ruby
3-2 beats · initials JR
Changes the beat after Jessica: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Jessica Rose
3-1 beats · initials JR
Changes the beat after Jessica: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 173 in Northern Ireland
Jessica Nora
3-2 beats · initials JN
Changes the beat after Jessica: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
Same style as Jessica
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 2,982 in Scotland
95% alike: moves with Jessica across countries and decades.
1 in 660 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Jessica across countries and decades.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
94% alike: moves with Jessica across countries and decades.
1 in 660 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Jessica across countries and decades.
1 in 557 in England and Wales
93% alike: moves with Jessica across countries and decades.
1 in 271 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Jessica across countries and decades.
1 in 2,347 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Jessica across countries and decades.
1 in 1,921 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Jessica across countries and decades.
Famous people named Jessica
Jessica Alba, Jessica Lange, Jessica Simpson, Jessica Biel, Jessica Chastain, Jessica Tandy, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Jessica Szohr.
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American actress and businesswoman (born 1981)
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American actress born 1949
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American singer and actress born 1980
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American actress (born 1982)
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American actress and producer (born 1977)
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British actress (1909–1994)
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British heptathlete born 1986
-
American actress and model born 1985
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Jessica
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Jessica?
Her best rank is No. 49 in Scotland in 2025, about 1 in 221 girls. She is in the published lists of 16 of our 40 regions.
What does Jessica mean?
Wiktionary glosses Jessica as "he will see/behold/look for".
How do you pronounce Jessica?
JES-ih-kuh, with 3 syllables.
Is Jessica getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 1 of 13 regions, falling in 11.
Which sister names go with Jessica?
The deck's top five sisters for Jessica: Leah, Joanna, Sarah, Samantha and Molly. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.